SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS SUBMITTED TO THE RULES COMMITTEE ON  
H.R. 3402 – DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZATION ACT, FISCAL YEARS 2006 THROUGH 2009

(in alphabetical order)

SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS

(summaries derived from information provided by sponsors)

Baird #24
Directs the Attorney General to create a federal grant and training program that would encourage states and to create or enhance malpractice mediation programs and offer them the training necessary to implement the program.

Bartlet #49
Establishes felony-level jail time (up to 2 years) for violators of the federal animal fighting law. Also prohibits interstate and foreign commerce in knives and faffes designed specifically for cockfighting. LATE

Brown-Waite #37
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to Congress on the correlation between drug and alcohol abuse and the reported incidence of violence at domestic violence shelters.

Capps #7
Strengthens the healthcare system’s response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Focuses on training health professionals to deal with these crimes, improving federal, state, and local public health responses, and improving research into effective interventions.

Capuano #38
Authorizes the Attorney General, acting through the Bureau of Justice Assistance, to make grants to State and local prosecutors and law enforcement agencies in support of juvenile (17 years of age or younger) and young adult (between 18 and 21 years of age) witness assistance programs. Authorizes grant funds to be used, among other things, for: (1) counseling services to young witnesses of a violent crime; and (2) protective services for young witnesses and their families when a serious threat of harm is made from perpetrators or their associates. Authorizes $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2009.

Cole (OK) #16
PLACEHOLDER. Clarifies that the term “state” includes Indian tribes in section 201 of the bill. WITHDRAWN

Cole (OK) #17
PLACEHOLDER. Clarifies that the term “state” includes Indian tribal governments in section 211 of the bill. WITHDRAWN

Cole (OK) #18
PLACEHOLDER. Clarifies that tribal law enforcement agencies are included for eligibility in section 204 of the bill. WITHDRAWN

Cuellar #39
Authorizes the FBI National Gang Intelligence Center. Adds $10 million in authorization for the Center for each fiscal year of the bill, mirroring the $10 million appropriation given in FY 2005. Allows FBI to gather information from any other agency. REVISED

Cuellar #40
Authorizes appropriations for the newly-structured Border Violence Task Force in Laredo, Texas. Authorizes appropriations of $10 million per year for the duration of the bill to provide for equipment, personnel, administrative, and technological costs. Allows the Attorney General to designate the lead on the Border Violence Task Force that is currently being lead by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Filner/Hulshof #6
Creates an Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Section within the Department of Justice.

Flake #13
Eliminates current federal statutory restrictions that prevent an arrestee’s profile from being included in the National DNA Index system (NDIS) at the same time that fingerprints are collected and uploaded. The amendment also requires the defendant to opt out if he ultimately is not convicted of an offense and does not want his DNA profile kept in NDIS. This change eliminates the bureaucratic burden of tracking the progress of individual criminal cases, which discourages states from building all-arrestee databases.

Herseth #43
Adjusts the minimum funding percentage in the Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) formula in years where the Congress appropriates approximately 90% of the authorized funding.

Holt #21
Increases the authorization for Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) program to $50 million for each fiscal year 2006-2010.

Hooley #31
Directs the Attorney General, through the DEA, to establish a federal MethWatch program that would provide information to retailers regarding the purchase of precursor products by individuals who may intend to use them in illicit methamphetamine production. The MethWatch program would educate retailers on how to prevent, identify and report suspicious transactions.

Inslee/Dicks/Smith (WA) #35
Clarifies that STOP grants are available to law enforcement agencies regarding law enforcement officer-involved domestic violence.

Inslee/Dicks/Smith/Reichert (WA) #36
Requires a DOJ report to study the incidence of law enforcement officer-involved domestic violence.

Jindal #45
Encourages federal cooperation with state and local authorities to provide facilities in order to conduct court proceedings. LATE. WITHDRAWN

Kelly #10
Public Safety Officers Educational Assistance program covers families of federal officers permanently disabled in the line of duty after 1996. For State and local public safety officers, the eligibility date is 1997. Amendment pushes the retroactive date back to 1978. Also makes the disabled officers themselves eligible for federal educational assistance.

Kelly #11
Increases mandatory minimum sentence for possession of a firearm during a crime from 5 years to 10. Increases mandatory minimum sentence for brandishing a firearm during a crime from 7 years to 15. Increases mandatory minimum sentence for discharge of a firearm during a crime from 10 years to 20.

Kennedy (MN) #19
Provides a requirement that treatment under the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) program be available to those individuals who have passed a regularly administered drug-screening test for three months. The Amendment also provides that aftercare be provided to prisoners enrolled in the RSAT program as a component of comprehensive substance abuse treatment.

Kennedy (MN) #20
Improves the Meth Hot Spots program by providing that funds under the program may be used to hire personnel and purchase equipment to assist in the enforcement of methamphetamine offenses and the environmental clean-up of methamphetamine-affected areas.

King (IA) #30
Strikes the Violence Against Women Act from the Department of Justice Reauthorization Act.

King (IA) #47
Prohibits a person convicted of domestic violence from sponsoring a visa applicant in the future. LATE

King (IA) #48
Requires that a person, to meet the definition of VAWA petitioner under Section 911, must report the abuse allegations to law enforcement officials. Should an investigation or prosecution occur, the petitioner must cooperate with law enforcement officials. Also prohibits a person convicted of domestic violence from sponsoring a visa applicant in the future. LATE

Kolbe/Dreier/ Lewis (CA) #1
Reauthorizes the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) through FY2011 and would increase authorized funding to $750 million for FY06, $850 million for FY07, and $950 million for FY08-11. Amendment also specifies that funds “may be used only for correctional purposes.”

Kucinich #8
Adds a new title for USA Patriot Act amendments and repeals Section 505 - National Security Letters and Section 802 - Definition of Domestic Terrorism of the USA PATRIOT Act.

Langevin #12
Enables the ATF to prevent guns from getting in the hands of criminals by: (1) Lifting the restriction on the number of annual ATF inspections of firearms dealers from one to three; (2) Raising the maximum criminal penalty from 5 years to 10 years for dealers who knowingly and willfully violate the law by committing serious record-keeping offenses that can hinder tracing guns used in crimes; (3) Authorizing the ATF to terminate a firearms license upon felony conviction; and (4) Authorizing funds for the hiring and training of 500 additional ATF inspectors.

Maloney #26
Requires that the recommended National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations include a recommendation that rape victims be offered information about emergency contraceptives to prevent pregnancy.

Maloney #27
Requires the Attorney General to issue a written report explaining why the recommended National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations did not include a recommendation that rape victims be offered information about emergency contraceptives to prevent pregnancy.

McCarthy #9
Amends the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) by providing States with incentives to automate records and share information with the FBI regarding individuals who are barred under current law from possessing a firearm.

Poe #5
Establishes a fixed annual allocation for State victim assistance grants and OVC discretionary grants equal to the average amount allocated over the previous three years plus 5 percent. This means the VOCA funding that covers direct services to victims does not get trumped by VOCA funding that covers federal bureaucracy.

Rothman/Hyde #44
Maintains the "Secure Our Schools" program, which was enacted in 2000 as part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, PL 106-386, as a separate grant program and reauthorizes the program through 2009.

Roybal-Allard/Poe #32
Prohibits insurance providers from basing coverage decisions on a victim’s history of abuse.

Roybal-Allard/Poe #33
Ensures that battered women can retain the financial independence necessary to leave their abusers without having to rely on welfare by requiring that States provide unemployment benefits to victims who are terminated from employment due to circumstances stemming from domestic violence.

Roybal-Allard/Poe #34
Allows a victim to take up to 10 unpaid days off from work, without penalty from an employer, to make necessary court appearances, seek legal assistance, and get help with safety planning.

Rush #28
Sense of Congress that calls upon the Justice Department to conduct an investigation to determine whether African American citizens, who had migrated from the south to the north, were unlawfully deprived of their property by way of unlawful conveyance of their land.

Ryan (OH) #46
Provides additional federal funding for programs that have received grants by the Department of Justice (Office of Violence Against Women) for providing counseling and shelter for women and children in crisis pregnancies. LATE

Sensenbrenner #25
PLACEHOLDER. Managers Amendment. Makes various technical changes to the bill requested by various Members and DOJ. Also includes a few miscellaneous provisions for grant programs to ensure Secure our Schools is preserved as a stand alone program and ensures that Native American Tribes are eligible for DOJ grants including the new Justice Assistance Grants programs and the Weed and Seed program grants.

Sessions #15
Provides clarification to long-standing policy at the ATF that allows for the issuance of import permits for the importation of firearm barrels, frames, and receivers subject to 18 USC 925(d)(3).

Slaughter #2
Expands the current federal criminal ban on fake police badges and the misuse of authentic badges to include the uniforms, identification, and all other insignia of all public officials. The use of such badges, uniforms, and insignia would be permitted for dramatic, decorative, display, and recreational purposes with the exception of counterfeit police badges. The only acceptable defenses to prosecution for possession of fake police badges would be (1) theatrical purposes or (2) legitimate law enforcement purposes. REVISED

Slaughter #3
This amendment requires the Office of Victims of Crime working with national, state, and local authorities and in collaboration with other federal agencies to develop and implement a plan that allows law enforcement officials to gather evidence of a crime during times of emergency even if the crime occurred outside of their jurisdiction. Furthermore, it requires OVC to coordinate, inform, and educate victims, service providers, and law enforcement officials of the process and mechanisms available for reporting violent crimes and gathering evidence during emergencies.

Slaughter #4
This amendment requires the Office of Victims of Crime working with national, state, and local authorities and in collaboration with other federal agencies to develop guidelines and protocols for states to protect evidence rooms and crime labs during emergencies.

Strickland #41
Requires private prisons to release information under FOIA.

Strickland #42
Changes the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Act to waive the state and local matches for vests going to all officers serving in high-risk areas and correctional officers transporting prisoners.

Stupak #22
Increases the authorization level of the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant program from $1,095,000,000 to $1,500,000,000.

Stupak #50
Prohibits the Michigan State Police from being eligible for Community Oriented Policing Services grants if the Michigan State Police closes their police facilities in Iron River or Grand Haven, Michigan. LATE

Stupak/Fossella #23
Increases the COPS authorization from $1.047 billion to $1.547 billion, and authorizes $500 million to be appropriated each of the fiscal years for first responder interoperability communications grants.

Udall (NM) #14
Requires the United States Attorney for each judicial district to appoint one Assistant United States Attorney the responsibility for prosecuting gun crimes. The Assistant US Attorney must give priority to crimes of violence committed by individuals previously convicted of a gun crime or felony. To carry out this requirement, the amendment authorizes $30 million for Fiscal Years 2006. through 2009.

Watson #29
Requires the Office of Juvenile Justice Programs of the Department of Justice to study and submit annual reports on major gangs operating in the U.S. with descriptions of members, activities, and conflict between gangs.

* Summaries derived from information submitted by the amendment sponsors.